Tropaeum Traiani

a city founded by the Roman emperor Trajan in the early second century A.D. after the subjugation of Dacia. The city’s ruins, which occupy about 12 hectares, are located near the present-day village of Adamclisi, in Dobruja, district of Constanja, Rumania. Nearby stand the remains of a monument erected by Trajan in 108–109 to celebrate his victory over the Dacians. The monument originally stood 38 m high. All that stands today is a round core about 30 m in diameter rising above a stepped podium. The core is decorated with a band of reliefs in the form of 54 metopes depicting Roman and Dacian warriors and episodes from the war. Above these stood a battlement with 24 merlons crowned by a hexahedral pedestal with a dedicatory inscription. The top of the monument contained representations of a coat of mail, two shields, and greaves.